Prosecutors: Porn star, dismemberment suspect denies charges

Prosecutors: Porn star, dismemberment suspect denies charges

(CNN) – A Canadian porn actor suspected of killing and dismembering a university student in Montreal pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all the charges against him, the prosecution office in Quebec said.

Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, faces first-degree murder and other charges in the death and dismemberment of Jun Lin, a 33-year-old Concordia University student from China.

Ahead of the hearing, police said Magnotta would appear in the Montreal courtroom via video link.

He arrived in Canada on Monday from Germany, a police official said. He was in police custody when he flew back aboard a Canadian military plane.

Magnotta did not fight extradition from Germany after his arrest there this month.

“Now the alleged killer is in Montreal, and he’ll be facing justice,” police spokesman Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere told reporters Monday at the Montreal-Mirabel International Airport, where the suspect’s plane touched down in the company of half a dozen officers.

“This is not the end of the investigation,” Lafreniere said.

Authorities accuse Magnotta of dismembering Lin and mailing one of his hands and one of his feet to Canadian politicians.

Police also believe Magnotta filmed the death and dismemberment and posted the video to the Internet. They have said the video shows Magnotta engaged in sexual acts involving body parts and also includes evidence of cannibalism.

The Canadian government worked with Montreal police, the Quebec Prosecution Service and German officials to bring about Magnotta’s extradition, officials said.

Berlin police arrested Magnotta at an Internet cafe where he was browsing articles about himself. An employee of the cafe recognized him and flagged down a carload of German police trainees.

The arrest ended an international manhunt that began after the body parts were mailed.

Authorities have said they believe Magnotta killed Lin on May 24 or 25, posted the video, then flew to France on May 26. He was thought to have boarded a bus to Berlin on June 1 while police were searching for him in Paris, Berlin prosecutors have said.

The case began when a caller complained to police about a strong smell coming from an alley behind Magnotta’s Montreal apartment building, Lafreniere has said. Investigators found a torso stuffed inside a suitcase.

The same day, officials at Canada’s Conservative Party headquarters received a package addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that contained a foot. Officials later intercepted a package addressed to the Liberal Party that contained a hand. DNA tests showed both were Lin’s, Lafreniere has said. The victim’s head is still missing.

A gay porn actor, stripper and escort, Magnotta was well known to animal rights activists online, who accused him of killing kittens and using the carcasses in sexual acts.

Authorities have said they were looking into the animal-abuse allegations and also examining possible links to other crimes.